Fund for Gender Equality

To create communities of true belonging, we need to advance gender equality across the country.

The Fund for Gender Equality is a collaboration between Community Foundations of Canada and the Equality Fund which is supported by the Government of Canada. Community foundations across the country granted over $3.4M to women and gender-diverse led and serving organizations. Waterloo Region Community Foundation (WRCF) is proud to be one of the participating community foundations.

Approximately $296,000 was distributed through the fund in 2023 to support 12 local organizations leading initiatives to support women, girls, Two-Spirit and gender-diverse individuals working towards a future grounded in equity, inclusion and justice. $16,000 of the total funding was provided through WRCF Fundholders. Read our press release.

We believe that a just recovery is a feminist recovery. To create communities of true belonging, we need to advance gender equality across the country. By participating in the Fund for Gender Equality, WRCF and other participating foundations are also committing to a number of other actions, including an examination of our own organizational and investment practices for women. By catalyzing the community foundation movement and the thousands of Canadians we connect with each day, we believe we can do more than just foster gender equality. We have an opportunity to begin removing the long-standing barriers to it.

 
Two women sitting on steps outside and laughing with each other

The Fund for Gender Equality is supported by a collaboration between Community Foundations of Canada and the Equality Fund, with support from the Government of Canada.

 
 

How can our organization apply?

The Fund for Gender Equality accepted applications between October 3, 2022 and October 31, 2022. Applications are now closed.

 

Additional information

  • The maximum amount to apply for is $40,000, of which 15% of the funding awarded may be used towards administrative expenses

  • Funding must be used between November 1, 2022 and March 31, 2024

  • Organizations receiving funding must be located in Waterloo Region

  • The Fund for Gender Equality will support projects led by qualified donees, or organizations partnered with qualified donees, that are at the ‘heart’ of the women’s movement— those organizations that have demonstrated a long-term commitment to empowering women, girls, Two-Spirit, and gender-diverse people through their mission, activities, and/or partnerships.

  • Download the Applicant Guide, including the template application questions:

  • How will applications be evaluated?

    Applications will be evaluated by local community foundations. Decisions will be made based on the extent that the proposed project:

    • Works to advance gender equality in Canada, as broadly defined;

    • Is ‘self-led’, ie. led by and/or meaningfully engages women and other community

      members who are directly affected by the issue being addressed by the project, acting on the concept of “nothing about us, without us”;

    • Prioritizes systems-change and long-term solutions and changes, over short-term initiatives;

    • Is inclusive of community members with diverse lived experiences, including ethnicity, language, gender, sexual diversity and orientation, socio-economic status, age, and physical abilities;

    • Articulates a plan to achieve demonstrable outcomes, including gender equality

      outcomes;

    • Involves collaboration or strategic partnership between multiple individuals or

      organizations;

    • Involves individuals, organizations, or partnerships with the capacity to deliver the project;

    • Involves only eligible expenditures.

  • To learn more about the Fund for Gender Equality contact Blessing Akpan at blessing@wrcf.ca or 519-725-1806 x 206 or visit the CFC website.

 
 
 
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The Fund for Gender Equality: A commitment to women, girls, Two-Spirit, and gender-diverse people

 
 
 

Here is a list of local organizations that received support through the Fund for Gender Equality in 2023

 

  • African Women's Alliance of Waterloo Region

  • Ayr Rockets Hockey Team

  • CIDO (Canadian International Development Organization)

  • Coalition of Muslim Women of KW

  • Community Justice Initiatives

  • Pat the Dog Theatre Creations

  • Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region

  • SHORE Centre

  • Women's Crisis Services of Waterloo Region

  • YWCA Cambridge